sneak peek: molly jacques & cody erickson

Calligrapher/illustrator Molly Jacques and her husband and fellow artist, Cody Erickson, live in a historic downtown area of Grand Rapids, Michigan, in an old house that was refurbished into a duplex apartment. The home’s huge windows and white walls let them experiment with colors and textiles that reflect their love for classic beauty and the arts. (I’m seriously in love with their velvet chairs!) As a freelancer, Molly spends most of her days in her studio space working on various jobs and collaborations with stationery designers and companies throughout the United States, as well as creating hand-lettered prints and custom stamps that she sells via her online store. Many thanks to Molly and to Bryan and Mae for the photos! — Anne

Image above: Our bed includes an ochre velvet headboard and was made in Paris during the 1920s. This is one piece of an entire bedroom set that we’ve decided to place throughout our home.

Image above: Our antique blue couch and glass coffee table have been in the family for years and serve as a great place to set out some of our favorite books to read.

More inside Molly and Cody’s Michigan home after the jump . . .

Image above: The living room is one of my favorite places in our home, as it holds all of our favorite books, records and my record player. We spend almost all of our hang out time here with friends, often listening to T.Rex and playing along with the guitar. Our big green velvet chair was sitting in my sister’s basement for years, and Cody decided to refurbish it and give it a home. On either side of the green chair, we have our wooden bookcases, which hold some of our most prized possessions.

Image above: In the summertime we love to have dinner and drinks out on our back porch. This image shows an old wooden tray that we use for carrying cocktails and a few Michigan wildflowers for decoration.

Image above: With a variety of hand-picked antique chairs and salon gallery walls, our dining room really showcases my love for eclectic style. Shown on the table is our Theodore Haviland New York china set along with a collection of antique crystal and various glass vessels. Paintings by Cody Erickson.

Image above: This dresser goes along with our Parisian bedroom set. It used to sit in my studio space (our bedroom is too small for it), but as my freelance business progressed, we decided to move it into our dining area. We love it here because the huge mirror opens up the room and also adds an unexpected feel against the dark wood throughout. On top, we’ve placed various found objects for decoration along with dried white roses that serve as a motif throughout many of Cody’s paintings.

Image above: Wildflowers cut from our backyard

Image above: The desk in my studio office is another piece from our bedroom set. It is actually a letter-writing desk, but it turned out to be the perfect size for my iMac, Wacom tablet, and keyboard! One thing that I love most about this work area is all the warm colors; the ochre velvet on my chair really complements the rusty orange carpet. Warm, cheerful colors never fail to lift my mood each morning as I approach my emails.

Image above: Shown here is my chalkboard to-do list that I created for my studio space along with a few of my own hand-lettered prints. Also a small monochromatic portrait my husband painted of me a few years ago next to an old letterpressed tobacco poster.

Image above: These are two old tins that were found by my mother at an antique store in Grand Rapids. Downtown we have four or five antique stores that reside in the lower level of the old Sligh Furniture building (which also serves as studio space for various artists). It’s an amazing place to go and venture around if you have a few hours to spare and love the smell of old books, furniture, and trinkets.

Image above: Our small but durable hat collection, which we bring with us whenever we travel.

Image above: Working from home has given me the freedom to surround myself with colors and images that really inspire and evoke creativity. I chose a bright yellow 1950s formica table to use as my work station because it complements all of the warm tones throughout the room and adds a little contrast to all of the Victorian-style furniture throughout the house.

Comments

I love this whole house, but that yellow formica table and “things to do” chalkboard are especially awesome. I work from home, too, and can’t help feeling I’d be inspired more with a bright, cheery space like that!

Your bedroom set is to die for, and I love the collection of paintings hanging in your dining room. I also work from home, so I understand the need for a setting that is equal parts functional and inspirational. Thanks for the peak!

This post caught my eye as I was catching up on posts. I have the SAME pasta tin! It’s in our kitchen. It was given to me by my Mom and I have no clue where she got it. It was always one of my favorites as a girl because we kept our spaghetti noodles in it which I was in charge putting in the pot.

Beautiful Calligraphy! Their home is great too! It looks like a real home that real people live in and enjoy. I am especially drawn to the grouping of Artwork on the dining room wall and the “still life” you created with the vase of flowers on the stool. Lovely!

Design*Sponge reserves the right to restrict comments that do not contribute constructively to the conversation at hand, contain profanity, personal attacks, hate speech or seek to promote a personal or unrelated business. Our goal is to create a safe space where everyone (commenters, subjects of posts and moderators) feels comfortable to speak. Please treat others the way you would like to be treated and be willing to take responsibility for the impact your words may have on others. Disagreement, differences of opinion and heated discussion are welcome, but comments that do not seek to have a mature and constructive dialogue will not be published. We moderate all comments with great care and do not delete any lightly. Please note that our team (writers, moderators and guests) deserve the same right to speak and respond as you do, and your comments may be responded to or disagreed with. These guidelines help us maintain a safe space and work toward our goal of connecting with and learning from each other.